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Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet — the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.

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The Avengers: Infinity War takes place two years after the Avengers were torn apart during the events of Captain America: Civil War, Thanos arrives on Earth to collect the Infinity Stones for a gauntlet that will allow him to bend reality to his will. The Avengers must join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop him before his onslaught of destruction puts an end to the universe.

Avengers: Infinity War is scheduled to have its world premiere on April 23, 2018 in Los Angeles, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 27, 2018, in IMAX and 3D. The sequel is set to be released on May 3, 2019.

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Black Panther is not your ordinary Marvel Comics film. It has begun a cultural movement all its own. As a black man, I can’t remember the last time a movie with a black director and a predominately all black cast has made such a splash in the mainstream cultural consciousness in such a positive way. It’s so amazing to see all these young black kids (and adults) coming out and supporting this movie, its cast and director Ryan Coogler. It’s an astonishing and humbling site to see.

To get tickets to the Black Panther showings sponsored by @octaviaspencer Saturday come to the theater. They are first come first serve and they will open their doors at 10:30 am. There are 3 showings. pic.twitter.com/YirypqCcDP

Is it a good movie though? I’m not going to let my blackness get in the way of looking at this film with a critical eye…. but the answer is yes. So lets talk about it.

The general plot of the movie is that Wakanda is an isolationist nation that has never been conquered or colonized by an outsider. This due to the mountain sized vibranium deposit that was left when a meteor crashed in Africa millions of years ago. The vibranium powers all of their technology. Everything from medicine and transportation to the weapons of war and self defense. As a nation that is entirely self sufficient, they are also loathe to lend aid to others. A similar analogy would be like feeding the birds at the park. It starts with just one, but before you know it, you have a whole flock at your feet.

This movie takes place after the events of Captain America 3: Civil War where King T’Chaka was killed by an explosion leaving young T’Challa in charge of a nation. Wakanda and its new king T’Challa, played exceptionally by Chadwick Boseman, want to protect their isolationist way of life from Erik Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan.

Killmonger feels like Wakanda is hoarding its technology and wants to use Wakandan advanced weapons and technology to wage war on the rest of the world. Particularly those who he feels are currently oppressing peoples of color be it local police on up to governments.

The movie is beautifully shot with epic sweeping cinematography. Wakanda is fleshed out with vibrant bustling streets, techno-organic skyscrapers, kids rushing off to school, young people jubilantly carousing about in cafes, waiting for sky car taxis, cooking street food and generally going about their business. It’s definitely the most life like city in all of the Marvel Universe.

And the costumes. Oh my god, the costumes. Ruth E. Carter, costume designer completely nails the afro-futurism look by blending the history and traditions of tribes from all over Africa. With 30 years of movie experience and two Oscar nominations for her work (on Malcolm X and Amistad), Carter understood the role clothing would play in shaping the film’s world. “Wakandans are serious about fashion,” Carter via said The Atlantic, of the inhabitants of Black Panther’s tech-forward, eco-conscious, never-before-colonized country. Her vision for Wakandan dress draws from traditional and contemporary African fashion. Sartorial cues help viewers understand the social geography of a fictional place—its political ideologies, cultural norms, etiquette. It’s easier to convey these unspoken elements when a film is set in a space and time the audience already has some reference for. For example, American viewers can read the message of a certain dress or hairstyle in, say, 1960s Alabama, which worked in Carter’s favor when she was designing the costumes for Selma.

The impressive score is crafted by Ludwig Goransson. The score is as textured and layered like the costumes as it blends and layers traditional African drums and vocalizations with a sweeping grandiosity usually reserved for epic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Out of Africa and dare I say it, Star Wars.

The cast rounds out the movie with powerhouse performances. Chadwick Boseman is a bit understated bringing a quiet maturity and presence to each scene, however I felt that the movie would have benefited from a bit more range from him.

The runaway star of the show, the scene-stealer is far and away is Shuri, the younger sister of T’Challa and played by Letitia Wright. She’s insanely smart, developing most if not all of the “Panther-tech”, plucky, irreverent and best of all: absolutely fearless. If you are a fan and reader of the Black Panther comics, you already know that at some point Shuri dons the mantle of the Black Panther and becomes the protector of Wakanda. I’m hoping this is something we will seen in the inevitable sequel as word has it, Kevin Feige has already asked Ryan Coogler to return.

This film does have some issues however. So lets talk about those too.

First off, the fight choreography isn’t my favorite. While Danai Gurira shines bright in her scenes as General Okoye, leader of the all female Dora Milaje, the same can’t really be said for most of the scenes involving hand to hand combat. The shots are cut quickly and the camera is way too close to see any meaningful movements. It’s tends to be a jumble of arms, legs and other flailing limbs. Aside from this action scenes (the car chase aside) end a few short minutes after they begin.

The CGI (especially during the final fight between Killmonger and T’Challa) is just plain bad. It looks unfinished is really the only way to describe it and seeing how well everything else is in the movie it’s really unfortunate and distracting.

This shouldn’t deter you from seeing the movie however. Not in the slightest. It’s a cultural milestone and I am anxiously looking forward to revisiting T’Challa, Shuri, Okoye and Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther 2.

I feel like these outfits were for anyone that tries to deny how African #BlackPanther is set to be. As in this movie is clearly going to be unapologetically black and you expect me not be excited? Please pic.twitter.com/2fyH2BnN9G

Believe the hype. Believe the buzz. Believe the words “cultural phenomenon.” #blackpanther is about to blow minds and take names. My God. Where to even begin. Long live the King. pic.twitter.com/cECg2mxnKw

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The best way would be to watch them in order of their release date. The films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have released in three phases. Which order did you watch the movies in?

Phase 1: Avengers Assembled

The Avengers Initiative (a.k.a Phase 1) was a secret project created by S.H.I.E.L.D. to create the Avengers, a collection of the most able individuals to defend Earth from imminent global threats; these individuals functioning as a response team to said threats which are too great for the forces of mankind to handle.

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Who is Ego the Living Planet? If you just watched Guardians of the Galaxy you know that Ego, played by Kurt Russell is Peter Quill aka Star Lord’s father. In the comics he has a similar origin as he explains in the movie, except he is not the father of any of the superheroes in the Guardians. (Unless this has been retconned. If so, let me know.)

So exactly who is he? What is he? Where did he come from? Keep reading for more answers…

I was digging around my old comic book archives looking for more stray trading cards and came across a few old issues of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. These official handbooks were compiled character profiles that were assembled into issues before Marvel started publishing them in the large hardcover format.

I flipped through a few pages and landed right on Ego the Living Planet! I had been meaning to do a profile since watching Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend but this saved me a ton of time. I scanned the two Ego pages and posted them here. I don’t think Ego has really changed much since this was printed, but if it has then please let me know!

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Guardians of the Galaxy manages to keep the heart and spirit of adventure from the prequel and inject a new level of weirdness into the sequel and it is 100% appreciated by this comic book fan.

I really loved this movie. When I said there is a new level of weirdness in Vol. 2, I meant it in the best way possible. In this movie we are literally walking around on a friggin Living Planet! Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 features the group who has now, through a series of adventures and misadventures, begun to mesh together as a tea

Ayesha of The Sovreign

m and family. They lend out their special talents to others, in this movie a race of genetically perfect, super pretentious, gold skinned people called “The Sovereign”, to take on threats that would send other people running for the space hills.
That threat is a giant rainbow shooting, bug eyed tentacle monster that has been eating (?) some very expensive space batteries that the Sovereign use. The interesting part about this scene, which is right at the beginning of the movie, is that in most sci-fi movies a fight scene like this would usually be THE key scene in the film. It’s a scene that would usually be the end or mid movie climax that is meant to grab and hold your attention. In Guardians of the Galaxy it’s just a backdrop for baby Groot to dance to Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra.

Mantis has empathic powers and is able to transfer feelings to others as well as receive them.

The music in this movie is just as good as the first with some nice cuts like Fox on the Run by Sweet, My Sweet Lord by George Harrison, and Southern Nights by Glen Campbell and Bring it on Home to Me by Sam Cooke. The highlights of the soundtrack for me were Brandy by Looking Glass and Father and Sons by Cat Stevens. It was amazing to see how “Brandy” was used to illustrate the longing and the calling of the sea to the vast ocean of space that called Ego the Living Planet (played by Kurt Russell) away from Peter Quill’s mother and how that same calling can and will affect Peter in all of his future relationships. It’s a powerful and nuanced moment that I can’t help but feel that is almost too deep for a movie that features a talking tree and raccoon and where almost every other main character is a different hue. But it fits. It fits perfectly. I didn’t think that that soundtrack was quite as powerful and striking as the Awesome Mix vol. 1 (Peter dancing to “Come and Get Your Love” is my favorite opening scene in all of the Marvel movies) but it still hit all the right notes right when it needed to.

Yondu gets his “fin” in Vol. 2.

To be completely fair and objective despite the amazing visuals and banging soundtrack, the first act of this movie is a bit of a mess. It’snot unwatchable by any means (far from it actually), it just lacks direction. There isn’t that one thing that really advances the plot (like trying to constantly stay one step ahead of Ronan the Accuser and keep the Infinity Gem out of his hands) and it kind of meanders a bit between action set pieces and people sitting and talking. I’ll say this though, characters sitting and talking never gets boring because all the actors in this movie are all over the top interesting and the delivery of comedic lines are on point. When Ego finally lays bare his plans, that’s when things get REALLY get interesting. I won’t spoil anything here, but he reveals a critical plot point that elicited loud gasps of disbelief in my theater.

That’s all I can really say about this movie for now because the longer I talk about it the more I’ll want to reveal some spoilers! If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend going as soon as you can. It’s worth the full price of admission, especially if you were a fan of the prequel.

What did you think about the movie? Have you seen it yet? How many times have you seen it? Comment below and let me know.

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Thor and the Recorder robot travel into the Black Galaxy and find that it is structured in an almost organic fashion, dubbed by the Recorder as a “Bio-Verse.” Following their navigation they come before Ego the living planet, who tells the two that it has been waiting for them.

Thor and the Rigellian Recorder have traveled into the “Bio-Verse” where they meet Ego the Living Planet. Wanting to have a dialogue with with the two visitors, Ego changes his environment to one that the two visitors find familiar, and creating a Asgardian themed Avatar to show them around, as well as give them a show of his vast powers.

Ego explains to Thor that he intends to beat Thor in combat, rationalizing if he can defeat the Thunder God, then nothing can stop him from taking over the world. Dissolving his avatar, Ego forms an army of anti-bodies to battle Thor and the Recorder. Forced with fighting these mindless drones and deal with Ego constantly shifting the planets shape. Fighting off the anti-bodies, Thor and the Recorder are then sucked into the arterized tunnels of Ego’s being.

Wonder Woman is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is intended to be the fourth installment in the DC Extended Universe. The film is directed by Patty Jenkins, with a screenplay by Allan Heinberg and Geoff Johns, from a story by Heinberg & Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs, and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, Lucy Davis, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, and David Thewlis. In Wonder Woman, after American pilot Steve Trevor crashes on the island of Themyscira and tells Diana Prince about World War I, Diana leaves her home to try to stop the war and becomes Wonder Woman.

Principal photography began in late November 2015 and wrapped in May 2016. Wonder Woman is scheduled to be released on June 2, 2017, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D.

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It’s been a year since Prince died and i’m still a little bit in shock. I’m in shock because I still can’t really wrap my mind around the fact that he’s gone and because it already been a year! I’ve always been a big fan of Prince since I was a kid. As a kid, back in 1985 (I was 8) I remember going with my mom over to her friends house to play Scrabble every Saturday night. All of her friends had kids my age and we would play around the house while the adults sat in the dining room laughing and blasting music. Invariably it always came down to two choices of music by the end of the night. Prince or Michael? The debate was never answered or won, but it was always a source of lively discussion. The answer didn’t really matter because by the end of the night both Purple Rain and Thriller had both been played in their entirety. Those were two albums that were the soundtrack of my childhood.

A short 4 years later in 1989, Batman was released. Up until then the only live action Batman that I had seen were the old Adam West and Burt Ward serials. But as we all know now, this was NOT the same Batman from the Golden Age of comics. This was a dark and gritty (a phrase that gets thrown around WAY to often nowadays) Batman who patrolled the garbage strewn alleys and the gargoyle laden rooftops of a gruesome Gotham City. It seemed to perpetually dark and had a character all its own.

It seemed only natural that it had a soundtrack to match. The score was composed by Danny Elfman, whose “Batman Theme” is now iconic for anyone who grew up on this movie, it’s sequels and Batman: The Animated Series.

Batdance was one of two songs that made it on to the Batman soundtrack. The other being “Partyman” which was played during Joker’s parade of hot air balloons with Smilex gas canisters attached. Batdance is pretty much two different songs mixed together. The first part of the song is a crazy mix of electric guitar solos, soundbytes from the movie and and electro-synth piano/drumbeat mix. The middle of the song, the “Vicky Vale” section, features more drum beats, soundbytes and Prince adding signature vocals. The third act of the song is similar to the beginning with more craziness added in.

The video for the song, features Prince in one half Batman costume and one half Joker costume complete with white face paint and green hair.

The video also features one Vicki Vale wearing a black dress with the words “All this and brains too”, a reference to The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, in which a female news presenter wears a top with the same slogan.

Gemini is Prince’s astrological sign, and is a reference to the duality in his music. “Gemini” would also make an appearance in the “Partyman” video, but with the “Batman” half replaced by Prince’s face without makeup.

The Batman and Jokers alternate dance sections, while Prince (as both himself and Gemini) sings the lyrics. The video ends with Gemini hitting a detonator, exploding an electric chair (referenced in the song), and Prince (actually Michael Keaton’s voice) saying “Stop” as the video abruptly ends.

The video earned Prince a 1990 Soul Train Music Award nomination for Best R&B/Soul Music Video, and nomination for Best Video From a Film from the MTV Video Music Awards of the same year.

What do you think about the song? Have you heard it? Do you love it? What is your favorite Prince song? Let’s discuss below.

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After the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor, held captive on the planet Sakaar without his hammer, must win a gladiatorial duel against an old friend — the Hulk — in order to return to Asgard in time to stop the villainous Hela and the impending Ragnarök, the doom of the Asgardian civilization.

Thor: Ragnarok is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Thor, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the sequel to 2011’s Thor and 2013’s Thor: The Dark World and the seventeenth film installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Taika Waititi with a screenplay by Eric Pearson, and stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins. In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor must defeat the Hulk in a gladiatorial duel in time to save Asgard from Hela and the coming Ragnarök.

A third Thor film was confirmed in January 2014, with the title and involvement of Hemsworth and Hiddleston announced that October. Waititi joined the film as director the next October, after Alan Taylor chose not to return from the second film, and Ruffalo joined the cast, crossing over the character Hulk from other MCU films. With the Hulk’s inclusion, elements from the 2006 comic storyline “Planet Hulk” were adapted for Ragnarok. The rest of the cast was confirmed the next May, with Pearson revealed to be involved with the film at the start of filming in July 2016. Principal photography took place from July to October, 2016, in Queensland and Sydney, Australia, with the film having exclusive use of Village Roadshow Studios in Oxenford.

Thor: Ragnarok is scheduled to be released on November 3, 2017, in IMAX.

Chris Hemsworth as Thor:

The crown prince of Asgard, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name. Hemsworth stated that following the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ragnarok finds Thor exploring and policing the universe while enjoying being a “drifter”. Hemsworth expressed interest in having Thor interact with Bruce Banner, as the two have not had a lot of interaction previously and “it would bring something different out of the characters,” adding he hoped the film was a “[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid] sort of story” for the duo. Director Taika Waititi said that he wanted to use more of Hemsworth’s comedic talents showcased in films like Vacation and Ghostbusters, saying, “He’s so good and underutilized in that department. He’s legitimately one of the funniest things in this film.”

Tom Hiddleston as Loki:

Thor’s adoptive brother and nemesis based on the deity of the same name. On playing the character for a fourth time, Hiddleston said he was interested in how Loki’s attitude has changed, adding “I’m four years older… and there will just be new things [I] find in it. The most exciting thing about [Loki] is that he is always a trickster. It is trying to find new ways for him to be mischievous”. Regarding the inclusion of the Hulk in the film, Hiddleston said that Loki has “a few chips on his shoulder” due to the previous interaction between the two characters in The Avengers.

Cate Blanchett as Hela:

The ruler of Hel and Niflheim, based on the deity Hel, who has been inadvertently released from her prison. About the character, Blanchett said, “She’s been locked away for millennia getting more and more cross, and then, with a mistake, she gets unleashed and she ain’t getting back in that box.” Blanchett also stated that Hela’s headdress can be used as a weapon and that she can manifest weapons from different parts of her body. She also took care to discuss with Marvel and Waititi to help define when Hela would be masked and when she would not be. Blanchett worked with stuntwoman Zoë Bell and studied capoeira in preparation for the role.

Idris Elba as Heimdall: The all-seeing, all-hearing Asgardian sentry of the Bifröst Bridge, based on the deity of the same name.

Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster:

A cosmic being fascinated with gaming and chance, who enjoys manipulating lesser life-forms and is the ruler of the planet Sakaar. Goldblum described the character as “a hedonist, a pleasure-seeker, an enjoyer of life and tastes and smells.” He also said that Waititi encouraged improvisation in order for Goldblum to “make [the character his] own”.

Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie:

A tough, hard-drinking Asgardian warrior, based on the mythological being Brynhildr, who has formed a business relationship with Grandmaster while hiding out on Sakaar. About Valkyrie’s inclusion in the film, producer Kevin Feige said, “[Thor’s] relationship with Jane [Foster] may have evolved in unexpected ways in between The Dark World and Ragnarok and we wanted to pit him against a character who was much more his equal and in many ways his superior.” Feige also stated that Valkyrie has spurned her Asgardian heritage elaborating, “Thor thinks maybe that will create a bond between them and, on the contrary, she wants to forget it all entirely.” Waititi stated that Thompson’s casting was not just about creating diversity explaining, “I’m not obsessed with the idea that you have to cast someone just to tick a box… You should cast people because they’re talented. [With Valkyrie] I wanted to make sure we weren’t making a female character that was boring and pretty. What I wanted was someone who was going to play the opposite and be even more of the ‘guy’ character than the guys.” Regarding Valkyrie’s wardrobe, Thompson said, “she’s such a bad ass that she doesn’t need a lot of metal to protect her. I’m essentially in leather.” Thompson stated that she was inspired by pictures of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day while training for the role. Thompson will also appear in future Marvel films.

Karl Urban as Skurge:

An Asgardian warrior. Urban shaved his head and worked out for the role, though he noted that “you won’t actually see my body in this movie under the costume that I have, but it’s important for me to get into the zone and feel [the part].”

Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk:

A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into a monster when enraged or agitated and becomes a successful and popular gladiator on Sakaar. Ruffalo, who said he is always excited to keep returning to the role as he sees “a lot of space for it to grow”, hoped the film would explore the relationship between Banner and the Hulk, potentially with the two in a scene together. Regarding the relationship between Banner and Thor, Ruffalo said, “There’s a little bit of Midnight Run, with [Charles] Grodin and [Robert] De Niro. I feel like that’s kind of where we’re heading with this relationship between Thor and Banner.” Describing the character, Ruffalo stated, “He’s much more of a character than the green rage machine you’ve seen in the Avengers movies. He’s got a swagger. He’s like a god.” Waititi said there was “a big conversation” regarding how verbal and conscious the Hulk would be compared to previous MCU films. Waititi added that the decision was a “larger group decision, rather than anything to do with just me or the writer” since it was taking into account future appearances for the character.

Anthony Hopkins as Odin: The king of Asgard, father of Thor, and adoptive father of Loki, based on the deity of the same name.

Additionally, Benedict Cumberbatch reprises his role as Stephen Strange from the film Doctor Strange and Sam Neill is cast in an undisclosed role. Waititi makes a cameo appearance in the film.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is an upcoming American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, produced by Marvel Studios and Columbia Pictures, and distributed by Sony Pictures. It is intended to be the second reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise and the sixteenth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Jon Watts, with a screenplay by Jonathan M. Goldstein & John Francis Daley and Watts & Christopher Ford and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, and stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Tyne Daly, Bokeem Woodbine, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter Parker tries to balance being the hero Spider-Man with his high school life.

In February 2015, Marvel Studios and Sony reached a deal to share the character rights of Spider-Man, integrating the character into the established MCU. The following June, Holland was cast as the title character, while Watts was hired to direct, followed shortly after by the casting of Tomei and the hiring of Daley and Goldstein to write the script. In April 2016, the film’s title was revealed, along with additional castings including Downey. Principal photography began in June 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia and continued in New York City before concluding in Berlin the following October. During filming, Watts, Christopher Ford, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers were revealed as additional screenwriters, and further cast members were confirmed.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is scheduled to be released on July 7, 2017 in the United States in 3D, IMAX, and IMAX 3D.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is an upcoming American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, from a story idea by visual effects supervisor John Knoll.

It will be the first stand-alone Star Wars Anthology film. Set in the Star Wars universe some time after the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and shortly before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the story will center on a group of Rebel spies on a mission to steal the plans for the Galactic Empire’s new weapon, the Death Star. It will star Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker.

The film is produced by Lucasfilm and will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Principal photography began at Elstree Studios, near London during early August 2015. Rogue One will be released on December 16, 2016.

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X-Men: Apocalypse is an upcoming 2016 American superhero film based on the X-Men characters that appear in Marvel Comics. It is intended to be the sequel to 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past and the ninth installment in the X-Men film series. Directed by Bryan Singer, with a screenplay by Simon Kinberg from a story conceived by Singer, Kinberg, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the film features an ensemble cast starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn and Lucas Till. In X-Men: Apocalypse, ancient mutant Apocalypse awakens and plans to take over the world.

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X-Men: Apocalypse is an upcoming 2016 American superhero film based on the X-Men characters that appear in Marvel Comics. It is intended to be the sequel to 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past and the ninth installment in the X-Men film series. Directed by Bryan Singer, with a screenplay by Simon Kinberg from a story conceived by Singer, Kinberg, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the film features an ensemble cast starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn and Lucas Till. In X-Men: Apocalypse, ancient mutant Apocalypse awakens and plans to take over the world.
The film was announced by Singer in December 2013 with Kinberg, Dougherty, and Harris attached to develop the story. Casting began in October 2014 while principal photography commenced in April 2015 in Montreal, Canada, and ended in August of the same year.

X-Men: Apocalypse is scheduled for release on May 27, 2016, in North America in 3D and 2D.

Suicide Squad is an upcoming American superhero film based on the DC Comics antihero team of the same name. It is intended to be the third installment in the DC Extended Universe. The film is written and directed by David Ayer and stars an ensemble cast featuring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, and Scott Eastwood.

By February 2009, a Suicide Squad film was in development at Warner Bros. Pictures. Ayer signed on to write and direct in September 2014 and by October the casting process had begun. Principal photography began on April 13, 2015 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with additional filming in Chicago, Illinois, and ended in August that year. The film is scheduled to be released on August 5, 2016.

*note– These are the Infinity Gems as they are represented within the comics, not within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The way the stones look and function has since been updated by Marvel; keep reading for details.

In the third volume of the Silver Surfer title, the Surfer refers to the gems as “Soul Gems” for the first time. They are gathered by the Elders of the Universe, who intend to use their combined power to drain Galactus of his life force and then recreate the universe with themselves as the oldest beings in it (Galactus was the last survivor of the Universe that existed prior to the birth of the current Marvel Universe). This plot is thwarted by the Silver Surfer, and several Elders and the gems are lost in a black hole; Galactus consumes some of the other Elders.

The Soul “Jewel” is firmly planted in the forehead of Adam Warlock – The Power of Warlock #2 (August, 1972)

In a follow-up story, Galactus is poisoned by the Elders he consumed. Silver Surfer, Mr. Fantastic, and the Invisible Woman journey through the black hole to recover the gems. Invisible Woman becomes possessed by the sentient Soul Gem, awakening her evil Malice persona. She is later subdued, and the gems are used to remove the Elders from Galactus’ body. The Elders later reclaim the gems.

Each Gem is a small, smooth oval, and known by their respective powers. Each of the Gems represents a different characteristic of Existence and possessing any single Gem grants the possessor the ability to potentially command whatever aspect of Existence the Gem represents. The Gems are indestructible but not immutable. On two occasions one or more of the Gems have appeared in the form of deep pink spheres that were several feet in diameter.

The Mind, Reality, Power, Space, Time, Soul Gems housed in the Infinity Gauntlet.

On other occasions the gems have appeared in their normal shape but with different coloring (i.e. when the Soul Gem appeared to be red when worn by the Gardener). In the Ultraverse, the merged Gems, Nemesis, were once again separated after a climactic battle with Ultraforce and the Avengers. The Space, Power, Soul, and Mind gems morph into humanoid beings. The nature of these beings is not known, nor how these beings returned to their original forms.

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, or simply Rogue One, is an upcoming American epic space opera film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz, from an idea by visual effects supervisor John Knoll.
It will be the first Star Wars Anthology film, a stand-alone story set in the Star Wars universe, and will star Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Neil Breen and Alan Tudyk.
Set shortly before the events of A New Hope, the story will center on a group of Rebel spies on a mission to steal the plans for the Galactic Empire’s new weapon, the Death Star.

The film is produced by Lucasfilm and will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Principal photography began at Elstree Studios, near London during early August 2015. Rogue One will be released on December 16, 2016.

EDIT: I was screen capping the trailer for a separate post and lo and behold on one of the caps what do I see? The Greek symbol or Omega on the cap where Batman is standing on the mountainside. We know that Darkseid shoots his Omega beams out of his eyes, so is Bats on Apokolips? Or is this still the Knightmare dream sequence? Take a look at all the screen caps and tell me what you think!

Black Widow (Natalia Alianovna “Natasha” Romanova, also known as Natasha Romanoff) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by editor and plotter Stan Lee, scripter Don Rico, and artist Don Heck, the character first appeared in Tales of Suspense No. 52 (April 1964). The character was first introduced as a Russian spy, an antagonist of the superhero Iron Man. She later defected to the United States, becoming an agent of the fictional spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D., and a member of the superhero team the Avengers.

Natasha was born in Stalingrad (now Volgograd), Russia. The first and best-known Black Widow is a Russian agent trained as a spy, martial artist, and sniper, and outfitted with an arsenal of high-tech weaponry, including a pair of wrist-mounted energy weapons dubbed her “Widow’s Bite”. She wears no costume during her first few appearances but simply evening wear and a veil. Romanova eventually defects to the U.S. for reasons that include her love for the reluctant-criminal turned superhero archer, Hawkeye.

The Black Widow’s first appearances were as a recurring, non-costumed, Russian-spy antagonist in the feature “Iron Man”, beginning in Tales of Suspense No. 52 (April 1964). Five issues later, she recruited the besotted costumed archer and later superhero Hawkeye to her cause. Her government later supplied her with her first Black Widow costume and high-tech weaponry, but she eventually defected to the United States after appearing, temporarily brainwashed against the U.S., in the superhero-team series The Avengers No. 29 (July 1966). The Widow later became a recurring ally of the team before officially becoming its sixteenth member many years later.

The Black Widow was visually updated in 1970: The Amazing Spider-Man No. 86 (July 1970) reintroduced her with shoulder-length red hair (instead of her former short black hair), a skintight black costume, and wristbands which fired spider threads. This would become the appearance most commonly associated with the character.

Later that day…

First hints to Natasha Romanova’s childhood come by Ivan Petrovich, who is introduced as her middle-aged chauffeur and confidant in the Black Widow’s 1970s Amazing Adventures. The man tells Matt Murdock how he had been given custody of little Natasha by a woman just before her death during the Battle of Stalingrad in autumn 1942. He had consequently felt committed to raise the orphan as a surrogate father and she had eventually trained as a Soviet spy, being eager to help her homeland. In another flashback, set in the fictional island of Madripoor in 1941, Petrovich helps Captain America and the mutant Logan, who would later become the Canadian super-agent and costumed hero Wolverine, to rescue Natasha from Nazis.

A revised, retconned origin establishes her as being raised from very early childhood by the U.S.S.R.’s “Black Widow Ops” program, rather than solely by Ivan Petrovitch. Petrovitch had taken her to Department X, with other young female orphans, where she was brainwashed, and trained in combat and espionage at the covert “Red Room” facility. There, she is biotechnologically and psycho-technologically enhanced—an accounting that provides a rationale for her unusually long and youthful lifespan.

During that time she had some training under Winter Soldier, and the pair even had a short romance. Each Black Widow is deployed with false memories to help ensure her loyalty. Romanova eventually discovers this, including the fact that she had never, as she had believed, been a ballerina. She further discovers that the Red Room is still active as “2R”.

During the incursion event between Earth 616 and Earth 1610, Natasha is involved in the final battle between the Marvel Universe’s superheroes and the Ultimate Universe’s Children of Tomorrow. She pilots a ship holding a handpicked few to restart humanity after the universe ends, copiloted by Jessica Drew. Her ship is shot down during the battle though, and she is killed in the ensuing explosion.

X-Men: Apocalypse is an upcoming American superhero film based on the X-Men characters that appear in Marvel Comics. It is intended to be the sequel to 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past and the ninth installment in the X-Men film series. Directed by Bryan Singer, with a screenplay by Simon Kinberg from a story conceived by Singer, Kinberg, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the film features an ensemble cast starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn and Lucas Till. In X-Men: Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant, Apocalypse, awakened after thousands of years, who is disillusioned with the world he finds, recruits a team of powerful mutants to cleanse humanity and create a new world order. Raven, along with Professor X must lead the X-Men to stop Apocalypse.

The film was announced by Singer in December 2013 with Kinberg, Dougherty, and Harris attached to develop the story. Casting began in October 2014 while principal photography commenced in April 2015 in Montreal, Canada, and ended in August of the same year. X-Men: Apocalypse is scheduled for release on May 27, 2016, in North America in 3D and 2D.

I was cruising YouTube and came across this awesome re-cut/re-edit of the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer. It combines all of the teasers and trailers that have been released so far and manages to keep some secrets.

No surprise here. Deadline reports that actress Emily VanCamp will be reprising her role as Agent 13, aka Sharon Carter, in Marvel’s ‘Captain America: Civil War.’ Agent 13 briefly appeared in ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ as an undercover S.H.I.E.L.D. agent posing as Steve Rogers’ next door neighbor, Kate.

In the comics, Sharon Carter is the niece of Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers/Captain America’s love interest. VanCamp’s role in ‘Civil War’ is being kept under wraps, but her character in the comics has been an on-and-off girlfriend of Steve Rogers/Captain America.

Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo from a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

“I remember a time of chaos. This wasted land. But most of all, I remember the Road Warrior. The man we called Max.”

It’s been more than three decades since Mel Gibson first brought George Miller’s Mad Max to life. The latest trailer explores the legacy of Mad Max, starting with footage from the trilogy and ending with some new footage from Fury Road.

“I wanted to tell a linear story—a chase that starts as the movie begins and continues for 110 minutes,” George Miller toldEntertainment Weekly. There are few digital effects and even less dialogue in the movie; “in this crucible of very intense action,” he continues, “the characters are revealed.”

“All the power… all the chaos… all the madness… has led to now”

Synopsis:

Haunted by his turbulent past, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across…

Like this:

Here’s the first clip from ‘Spy’ featuring Melissa McCarthy And Rose Byrne.

Synopsis:

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency’s most dangerous missions. But when her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent (Jason Statham) is compromised, she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent a global disaster.

Written and directed by Paul Feig. Produced by Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Paul Feig, and Jessie Henderson.

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Geoffrey Lewis was a familiar face appearing in films and TV shows in the ’60s through ’80s. The actor, father to actress Juliette Lewis, died Tuesday of natural causes. Lewis’ film credits include Clint Eastwood’s High Plains Drifter,Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Every Which Way But Loose, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The Devil’s Reject and many more. His TV credits include appearances on Flo, earning him a Golden Globe nomination, Barnaby Jones, Hawaii Five-O, Little House on the Prairie, Falcon Crest and Murder, She Wrote.

Lewis is survived by his wife Paula Hochhalter, Juliette Lewis and nine other children including Lightfield and Matthew, both actors, and Dierdre, an actress. He was 79.